Newtown Bagel Store Given Approval To Expand Operations

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — There's good news for bagel lovers in Newtown.

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to grant conditional use approval to the owner of Newtown Bagel to more than double the size of its business at the Newtown Plaza shopping center on Swamp Road.

The longtime bagel maker will be taking over a vacant storefront, formerly occupied by C&N Bank, and expanding the business from 1200 to 3000 square feet just in time for its 25th anniversary in 2026.

"We operate in 1200 square feet, which can be tight on a Saturday or Sunday," said Chris Meyer, who has owned and operated the store since 2020. "I often encourage people to order ahead so they don't have to wait in a very cramped environment."

Meyer told the supervisors that the store only has 10 seats, which has made the day-to-day operations of the business challenging. The expansion, he said, will allow him to add 14 new seats, bringing the total to 24.

Newtown Bagel will be expanding into the vacant storefront next door. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

In addition to new seating, Meyer said he'll be expanding the store's coffee selection.

"The selection we currently have is limited because of the space we have, so we're looking to expand with additional gourmet options and some homemade syrups, which currently are not available in Newtown," said Meyer.

With the expansion, Meyer said he initially plans on adding one new employee. "Hopefully, if we get busy enough, we'll be adding two."

Regarding parking at the shopping center, Meyer said there hasn't been an issue since the bagel shop primarily operates during the morning and doesn't conflict with the hours of Dragon of Newtown, the other big parking lot user at the shopping center.

With the expansion, the bagel shop will continue to operate from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"Right now we're really busy from 7 to 11 a.m. We'd like to expand our lunch traffic. That has been an ongoing emphasis for us for the past several years," said Meyer. "I'd like to explore whether we can stay open until 3 p.m. It's really hard to guess where we will land, but right now 7 to 2 is what we're looking to do."

In one of the most important questions of the evening, the bagel shop's attorney, Russ Sacko, asked Meyer, "Do you have the best bagels in Bucks County?"

"We were a finalist last year at number two (for best bagel shop in Bucks County). We're hoping to be number one this year," said Meyer.

Supervisor Elen Snyder asked if he had brought any bagels with him to the meeting.

"No, but I can get you some bagels tomorrow morning. We open at 7 a.m.," said Meyer.

Supervisor John Mack asked about the shop's bagels and where they are made.

Meyer said they operate a production facility in New Jersey, which produces the raw dough used to make their bagels. "The bakery makes the raw dough. We do everything else in-house, every day," he said.

In approving the application, the supervisors granted the shop owner to expand the operation. They also gave the shop the flexibility to stay open until 5 p.m. without coming back to the board for future approval.

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